---

For Hungarian higher education, the programme serves both to deepen relations with neighbouring countries in the Carpathian Basin - and as part of this, cooperation with Hungarians beyond the borders - and to build professional communities with the Visegrad countries, as well as to provide opportunities for cooperation with the Western Balkan countries. The programme also contributes to the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. The demand from applicants is increasing year on year and the programme is becoming more and more popular among higher education institutions in the region. At the same time, an increasing number of Hungarian university and college faculties and departments are becoming involved in the programme.

Hungary is holding the rotating chair of the programme from 2023-2025, and the Tempus Public Foundation organised an international workshop and conference titled Strengthening Networks, Expanding Horizons to provide professional support to the chairmanship.

The two-day programme started on 24 September 2024. The first day was an inspiring workshop for the staff of National CEEPUS Offices (NCO), to which 8 of the 16 NCOs were able to delegate participants, in order to prepare effectively for the new CEEPUS Phase IV call for proposals and the introduction of new programme elements.

The next day, the international conference was attended by nearly 100 participants from 53 universities in 11 countries. Unique in the history of the CEEPUS programme, the international conference also served as a preparation for the new phase IV of the programme, which will start in the academic year 2025/2026.

In his welcome speech, Richárd Bodrogi, Director General of the Tempus Public Foundation, outlined the objectives of the conference:  to fill the two years of the CEEPUS chair with professional content, to support CEEPUS networks in presenting their achievements and to provide an opportunity for network leaders to build new professional contacts.

After the Director General's speech, CEEPUS Secretary General Michael Schedl presented the innovations of the fourth phase of the programme and the objectives behind them, and welcomed the opportunity the conference offered to showcase good practices from university networks and to exchange experiences between staff.

In the morning and afternoon sessions, participants discussed, among other things, the organisation of short programmes: summer schools/intensive courses, short-term student trips, and the joys and challenges of working with associated partners (so called silent partners).

The network coordinators and international coordinators present also exchanged ideas on how to improve the quality of mobilities, how to integrate the results and how to promote the networks more widely.

Short case studies and small group discussions formed the core of the conference, the main lessons of which were shared by the session leaders in a closing plenary session, followed by further networking opportunities for participants.

The success of the conference, as indicated in the title, is reflected in the feedback, some of which we highlight below:

"It was very professional and the atmosphere was very friendly. It was an excellent opportunity to meet you, to network with representatives of national and foreign institutions. The welcome speeches were very dynamic and the summaries of the workshops conveyed what was said in a very pithy way. The venue and the catering were also impeccable, worthy of the CEEPUS programme and such an event." (SZTE- Szeged,HU)

„I enjoyed a lot the conference. Very useful presentations and  exciting discussions. Congratulations for the excellent organization!” (TU-Sofia, BG)

"I was able to talk to several international colleagues on the margins of yesterday's conference, thank you for organising it, it was a useful event." (METU- Budapest, HU)

„The CEEPUS conference was successful and reached its goals since we met many local coordinators and chiefs of NCO offices.” (Serbia)

„Thank you very much for organization of this event and for all effort you made to be sucessfull. I hope that also most of the participants found it useful. It was my pleasure to take an active part!” (Mendel University, Brno, SK)

"I would also like to thank you for the excellent opportunity to participate and share experiences with colleagues. I would like to thank you personally and congratulate you for the excellent organization and execution!" (NKE, Budapest, HU)

Click here to see the conference presentations and a brief introduction of the speakers.

Last modified: 16-10-2024